My most recent feature article just went live. It is titled "When Epic Becomes Bloated" and is about those extra addition to games that make you feel like you are wasting time instead of being entertained.
The first draft of this feature focused primarily on Skyward Sword, but was edited to include other games.

Below I have pasted in a large chunk of the first draft which goes into more detail of why I thought that Skyward Sword was too bloated. Some of the below made it into the final copy but most of it didn't.

Feel free to leave both happy and angry comments. Enjoy.

Ways that Skyward Sword is bloated:

1) Fetch quests and backtracking

Between dungeons (ie. the exciting parts) long stretches of Skyward Sword were reserved for mindless, uninspired traipsing from one corner of the map to the other, or needless roadblocks with no discernible reason to exist. On a number of occasions Link approached his desired location only to be told that he needs to find a random McGuffin to be able to progress. To find this inconvenient item he needed to re-explore old environments.

Backtracking is definitely not a new gaming device. The most famous early examples of effective backtracking and exploration in game design are Metroid and Castlevania – for which the term Metroidvania can be blamed. Essentially, this style of play employs non-linear gameplay which rewards exploration and backtracking once you have obtained new items and tools. When implemented correctly, this style can provide depth to the world, and choice to the player.

In the case of Skyward Sword, the majority of these instances had you backtracking to a handful of environments with little additional content offered. Nor did these segments act to introduce or expand on characters or the world. If these sections were option al side-quests they would be much easier to excuse. As inescapable story beats, they add very little to the experience except for bloat. Although Uncharted 3 could be criticised for how linear it is, there is something to be said for forward momentum. If backtracking adds nothing to the experience then why not forge ahead? Likewise, Skyrim could be criticised for its plethora of fetch quests, but they were rarely mandatory and each quest offered new locations to explore. There is a happy medium between the two extremes, but I don’t think Skyward Sword found it.

2) Success! (Now do it again)

By their very nature, games are repetitive:- Run here, jump on that, hide behind cover, shoot, mash buttons, die, reset. Great games are able to make you forget this fact, or at least try to hide it. When introducing new mechanics, games will often require the player to demonstrate their new-found ability. However, this set-up can quickly become tedious, and add bloat to a game when repeatedly applied.

For example, an early section of Skyward Sword had Link using his sword to locate cute little animals called kikwi. By this stage the dousing mechanic had been introduced and implemented, yet the game contrived this mandatory roadblock so Link could once again use this skill. The cuteness of the kikwi nearly makes up for this lost time, but not quite. In Skyward Sword, sections like this are plentiful and serve neither story, world-building, nor advancement of skill. In Skyrim, every action is rewarded with experience, and every problem can be tackled how the player chooses. Even repetitive actions serve a higher purpose and add something to the experience as a whole. MMOs show that gamers don’t mind repetitive actions so long as there is a perceived reward for doing so.

3) Hand-holding Dialogue

Every Zelda game is going to be someone’s first Zelda game. As such, a certain amount of hand-holding is expected. The recent Mario games are proof that the developers at Nintendo are experts at catering their games for both new and experienced gamers. On the other hand, Zelda is a series known for its loyal and rabid fan base (for proof see the comments section, deviantart or the internet at large). As someone who falls into the loyal (if not rabid) camp, I don’t need notification of “Z targeting” instructions, the worth or rupees, descriptions of collectables, or new dousing targets repeated ad nauseum. A simple “I have played a video game before” option when beginning a game could eliminate these pop-ups for experienced gamers while retaining them for beginners.

No conversation about repetitive dialogue would be complete without mentioning Link’s companion and guide, Fi. Avoiding the gender politics of the game’s main female character (based purely on screen time) having a pathological compulsion to call Link “Master”, I will say this: anyone who thought Link’s guide Navi from Ocarina of Time was annoying better prepare for the walls of text Fi will spout at you with the slightest of provocation.

The dialogue mentioned above is not only repetitive but also needlessly obtrusive. Each interrupts the flow of the game to inundate you with (mostly) useless information. I can understand the sentiment behind keeping players of all experience levels informed but there are better ways to implement this data.

Contrast Fi to the subtle ways which Uncharted 3’s (and to a lesser extent Skyrim’s) companions inform the player of important information –mid-action- and Skyward Sword comes up noticeably short. Without trying to kick-start this debate, these issues could mostly be resolved by the proper implementation of voice acting.

There is no doubt that Skyward Sword is a fantastic game. But no game is perfect, and no series should rest of its laurels. Skyward Sword made a number of advances in streamlining the experience while retaining the series’ essential qualities. While trying to find a new balance, gamers were left with a game that was often awesome, but also needlessly bloated.